It was 11:47 p.m. on a Thursday when Audrey Bennett’s boss, Cameron Hayes, appeared at her door.
Cameron was the CEO of Hayes Enterprises: arrogant, relentless, a workaholic, and far too handsome for his own good. But that night, he was not the controlled man Audrey knew from the office. He was drunk, stumbling, his tie crooked and his eyes bloodshot.
The worst part was what he said when she opened the door.
“Audrey, I need you.”
Not for work. Not for a meeting. Not for a presentation. He needed her.
And Audrey was wearing kitten pajamas.
The doorbell dragged her out of the most embarrassing nap of her life. She had fallen asleep on the couch with a book open in her lap, her glasses crooked on her face, wearing her favorite blue pajamas with the kitten print, the ones Sophie always said were the death of her love life.
Audrey blinked, trying to understand what time it was and who would be ringing her doorbell at almost midnight on a Thursday.
The bell rang again and again, insistent enough to make her get up quickly. She adjusted her glasses as she walked to the door, looked through the peephole, and felt her heart stop.
Cameron Hayes stood outside in a half-messy suit, his loose tie hanging around his neck, his dark hair disheveled in a way that should have been illegal. He looked impossibly handsome and visibly drunk.
Audrey opened the door so fast she almost tore off the doorknob.
“Mr. Hayes, what are you—”
The words died when he stumbled forward. She instinctively grabbed his arms to keep him from falling onto the hallway floor. His weight against her was warm and solid, and the smell of whiskey mixed with the expensive cologne he always wore invaded her senses in a disturbing way.
“Oh,” he said, drawing out her name with a drunk smile that was absurdly beautiful. “You’re here.”
“I live here. Are you okay?”
Her voice came out higher than usual because this was not happening. It definitely could not be happening.
“No.”
He walked into her apartment, tripping over his own feet. Audrey caught him again, feeling the heat of his body through the thin fabric of her ridiculous pajamas.
“I’m not okay. I’m terrible. I’m—”
He stopped talking and looked at her with dark eyes that were usually controlled and cold at the office. Now they were full of something she could not name.
Confused, Audrey closed the door quickly because the neighbors did not need to see her drunk boss inside her apartment.
“You’re drunk. How did you find my address?”
He let himself fall onto her couch, almost sliding to the side before balancing himself.
“HR files. I’m the boss. I have access.”
His eyes traveled over her body from top to bottom, too slowly, too intensely.
“You’re in pajamas.”
Audrey looked down at herself, feeling her face heat.
“I was sleeping. It’s almost midnight.”
“There are kittens,” he said, studying the print with excessive concentration for someone so drunk.
“Yes, there are kittens. So what?”
She crossed her arms in front of her chest in a pathetic attempt to look less ridiculous.
“It’s—”
He searched for the right word, tilting his head in a way that made a strand of hair fall over his forehead.
“Ugly.”
“Excuse me?”
Her voice rose an entire octave.
“No, wait.”
He laughed. It was a drunk, genuine laugh, completely different from the cold, calculated smiles he gave at the office.
“It’s not ugly. It’s cute. Like you. Cute, but weird.”
“You came here to call me weird?”
Audrey was torn between laughing, crying, and maybe pushing him out of the apartment.
Suddenly, he became serious. Completely serious. His eyes fixed on hers with an intensity that stole the air from her lungs.
“No. I came because I need you.”
The world stopped.
Her heart beat so hard she could hear it echoing in her ears.
“Need me for what? Meeting tomorrow? Presentation? I already prepared all the—”
“No.”
He stood abruptly, stumbling, and grabbed her shoulders with both large, warm hands. The proximity was suffocating and overwhelming.
“Not for work, Audrey. For me. I need you.”
Audrey could not process the words. She could not breathe properly.
“I don’t understand. You’re—”
He gestured dramatically, his hands still too close to her.
“Irritating, you know. Always punctual, always proper, always—”
He stopped and swallowed hard.
“Perfect. And I hate perfection because it makes me feel messy. And you have these ridiculous glasses that make you look like—”
Another pause. His eyes dropped to her lips.
“A sexy librarian. But you don’t even know you’re sexy. That drives me crazy.”
“I—what?”
It was all Audrey could say because his words were breaking down every barrier she had carefully built around her feelings for him.
“And you wear these ugly cardigans,” he continued, as if he had been holding all this in for too long and now could not stop.
“My cardigans are not ugly,” she interrupted, indignant even in the middle of the chaos.
“They are. But I like them. And that doesn’t make sense.”
He sat down again and put his head in his hands in a gesture of absolute frustration.
“Nothing makes sense since you started working for me.”
“Mr. Hayes, you’re very drunk. I think it’s better if you—”
She tried to use her calmest, most rational voice, but he looked up at her, and all rationality evaporated.
“I fell in love with you.”
The silence that followed was so deep Audrey could hear the kitchen clock marking the seconds.
“What?”
Her voice came out in an almost inaudible whisper.
“Fell in love.”
He laughed without humor, a rough, painful sound.
“Ridiculous, right? Cameron Hayes. CEO. Workaholic. Never loses control. And I’m in love with my proper secretary who wears kitten pajamas.”
His eyes met hers, and there was so much vulnerability there that it hurt to look at him.
“I’ve never met any woman like you, Audrey. Never. They’re all the same. Boring. Predictable. But you’re different. And I don’t know how to deal with different.”
Tears threatened to spill from Audrey’s eyes.
“You’re drunk. You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“I do.”
He stood again, completely invading her personal space. He was so close she could feel heat radiating from him.
“I know exactly what I’m saying. I’m in love, Audrey, and it’s horrible because you shouldn’t be my type. You’re everything I don’t look for, but you’re everything I want.”
“Cameron.”
His name left her mouth without permission, soft and loaded with all the emotions she had been denying for months.
He stopped. Froze completely.
“You called me Cameron.”
“Because you’re making me feel.”
She swallowed hard, trying to find the right words.
“I don’t know how to deal with this.”
He touched her face with a gentleness that completely contradicted the intensity of the moment. His hand was warm against her cheek.
“Me neither. But I need you, Audrey. Even if it’s wrong, even if it’s crazy, I need you.”
He leaned toward her, and Audrey pulled back on reflex.
“No. You’re drunk. I’m not going to—this isn’t right.”
Cameron laughed, but it was sad and defeated.
“Always so proper.”
He stumbled again, and she automatically caught him.
“Even when rejecting me, you’re proper.”
“Come on. You need to sleep.”
She guided him back to the couch, trying to ignore the fact that her heart had been shattered and rebuilt at the same time.
“Can I sleep here?” he asked, already lying down, his heavy eyes beginning to close.
“You’re going to sleep here. I’m not letting you drive like this.”
Audrey arranged a pillow beneath his head and got a blanket from the bedroom.
“You take care of me,” he murmured, his voice getting lower as sleep began to win. “Always take care. At work, in meetings. Now here.”
His eyes closed completely.
“You’re perfect.”
“I’m not,” Audrey whispered, covering him with the blanket.
“You are. My perfect weird ugly pajama.”
Then he fell asleep, his breathing becoming deep and even.
Audrey stood beside the couch, looking at Cameron Hayes, the most impossible man in the world, sleeping in her tiny apartment, vulnerable in a way she had never imagined he could be.
That was when she realized she was completely, hopelessly in love with him.
The hours passed at a strange speed, as if time had decided to play with her. Audrey could not sleep. She spent the night sitting in the armchair, watching Cameron sleep, making coffee, and rehearsing what to say when he woke up.
At 3:12 in the morning, she could not take it anymore. She grabbed her phone with trembling hands and called Sophie.
Sophie answered on the 5th ring with the voice of someone yanked out of deep sleep.
“This better be death or—”
“My boss is on my couch,” Audrey interrupted in a whisper that was almost a shout.
There was a pause.
“What?”
“Cameron Hayes. My boss. CEO. Sleeping on my couch.”
“How? Why? Did you kidnap him?”
Sophie was completely awake now.
“He showed up here drunk, knocking on the door, saying that—”
Audrey paused, because saying it out loud would make it even more real.
“That he needs me.”
“Needs like work?”
“No. Like he—”
Audrey lowered her voice even more.
“Said he’s in love with me.”
The scream Sophie let out on the other end almost pierced Audrey’s eardrum.
“What?”
“Shh. He’s going to wake up.”
Audrey looked toward the living room, but Cameron kept sleeping deeply.
“Audrey, the hot CEO is in love with you.”
“He was drunk. He said a bunch of stuff. Called me weird. Said my pajamas are ugly.”
“Which pajamas are you wearing?”
“The kitten ones,” Audrey admitted, embarrassed.
Sophie laughed.
“Audrey.”
“I know. But he said he likes them even though he thinks they’re ugly. And that my glasses are ridiculous but make me look sexy.”
“Wait. He called you sexy?”
Her enthusiasm was almost palpable.
“Sexy librarian. But he was drunk, Sophie. None of this counts.”
“Of course it counts. Drunk people tell the truth. What else did he say?”
Audrey took a deep breath before continuing.
“That he’s never met a woman like me. That I’m irritating but perfect. That my cardigans are ugly but he likes them. That I make him lose control.”
“Audrey, that’s a complete declaration from a drunk man.”
“Tomorrow he won’t remember any of it,” Audrey argued, even though part of her wanted to believe Sophie was right.
“Or he’ll remember everything, get embarrassed, and be a defensive jerk.”
Sophie paused meaningfully.
“Do you like him?”
The question caught Audrey off guard, even though the answer was obvious.
“I don’t know. He’s my boss. He’s arrogant, workaholic, impossible.”
“But?” Sophie insisted, because she knew Audrey too well.
“But when he looks at me, sometimes I forget to breathe. And tonight, when he said those things, drunk and vulnerable—”
Her voice failed.
“I wanted to believe it.”
“Then tomorrow you’re going to have to deal with this.”
“I know. And I don’t know how.”
Audrey ran a hand through her hair, frustrated.
“Wing it and call me immediately after.”
“I’m going to die.”
“Not before kissing him. Good luck, bestie.”
Sophie hung up.
Audrey went back to the living room and looked at Cameron asleep on her couch. He looked younger like this, without the mask of control he always wore. Beautiful. Impossible.
Mine.
No, not hers. He would never be hers.
“What do I do with you?” she whispered into the silence of the apartment.
The light of dawn began coming through the curtains around 6:30. Audrey was in the kitchen, holding 2 cups of coffee with trembling hands, when she heard Cameron move.
He groaned softly, bringing a hand to his head, obviously feeling the hangover. He sat up slowly, looking around in confusion.
“Where? Where am I?”
His voice was heavy with sleep and alcohol.
Audrey came out of the kitchen, heart beating so hard she was sure he could hear it.
“At my place. You showed up here yesterday. Drunk.”
She saw the exact moment the memories returned. His face went pale. His eyes widened slightly.
“I—what did I—”
She placed a cup of coffee on the table beside him, unable to look him in the eyes.
“You said some things. But you were drunk, so—”
She forced a smile that she knew did not reach her eyes.
“We can forget it, right?”
Cameron picked up the cup, his fingers brushing hers for a second that seemed to last an eternity. He looked at her, really looked at her. Her glasses. Her face without makeup. The kitten pajamas she had not changed out of.
Then she saw the barrier go up. She saw him close off everything he had shown the night before.
“Right. Forget it. I need to go.”
He stood too fast, stumbling a little before regaining his balance.
“Your car is outside, but I don’t know if you should drive yet.”
She tried, but he was already grabbing his jacket.
“I’m fine.”
His voice was cold, professional, distant.
“Thanks for letting me sleep here.”
“You’re welcome,” was all she could say.
He walked to the door, his hand on the doorknob. He did not look back.
“See you at the office. And Audrey—”
He paused, and the pause seemed to carry the weight of the world.
“Nothing that happened last night changes anything. Professionalism. Understood?”
Audrey’s heart sank in her chest, shattering into millions of tiny pieces.
“Understood.”
The door closed with a soft click that echoed through the empty apartment.
Audrey leaned against the door, letting her body slide to the floor. The tears she had been holding back all night finally fell.
“Idiot,” she whispered to no one.
To the empty space. To the ghost of him that still seemed to fill every corner of the room.
Because he was an idiot for pretending nothing had happened.
And Audrey was an even bigger idiot for believing, even for a few hours, that someone like Cameron Hayes could truly fall in love with someone like her.
Part 2
Audrey arrived at the office at 8:30 the next morning with her stomach in knots and the constant feeling that she might throw up right there in the gleaming hallway of Hayes Enterprises.
She had spent far more time than usual choosing her gray blazer, adjusting her glasses on her nose for the 10th time, and pulling her hair into a bun that she hoped conveyed absolute professionalism and control. Because that was what Cameron wanted, was it not? Professionalism.
As if the night before had never happened. As if he had not shown up completely drunk at her apartment door and declared he was in love with her.
Audrey took a deep breath before entering the executive floor, mentally rehearsing every possible way to act natural, to pretend her heart was not completely shattered inside her chest. She pushed through the glass door and walked down the silent hallway to her desk, strategically positioned in front of his office, where she could see everything through the transparent glass walls.
Cameron was already there, sitting behind the gigantic mahogany desk that probably cost more than her car. His eyes were fixed on the computer screen so intensely it looked as if he was trying to drill through the monitor with his gaze. He did not even lift his head when she entered. He gave no sign he had noticed her.
“Miss Bennett, I need the financial reports by 10:00 this morning.”
His voice was cold, distant, too professional, as if he were talking to a complete stranger.
Audrey swallowed hard, feeling a lump form in her throat.
Miss Bennett.
Not Audrey. Never Audrey. As if her name had been erased from his vocabulary overnight.
“The reports are already on your desk, Mr. Hayes,” she replied, trying to keep her voice steady.
He finally looked at the papers, impeccably organized beside his keyboard, as though only now noticing they were there.
“Great.”
Then he went back to typing, his fingers hitting the keys with mechanical precision.
“You can go.”
Audrey stood there for a few seconds that seemed to stretch into eternity, waiting for something she could not even define. A look, maybe. A small sign that he remembered. Anything, however small, that indicated she had not imagined all of it.
“That’s it?”
The words left her mouth before she could think better of it.
Cameron did not even blink. He continued looking at the computer screen as if she were not there.
“Yes, that’s it. You can go, Miss Bennett.”
Audrey left his office feeling as if she had just been punched in the stomach, one of those blows that knocked all the air from the lungs and left a person dizzy and disoriented. She sat in her chair and looked at the pile of documents she needed to review, but the letters seemed to dance on the page, illegible through the tears she was fighting to hold back.
The rest of the morning was true silent, methodical torture. Every interaction between them was icy, formal, painfully polite in a way that made her chest tighten.
“Miss Bennett, I need you to schedule a meeting with the investors.”
“Miss Bennett, where are the contracts I asked for yesterday?”
“Miss Bennett, can you bring coffee, please?”
He never, not once, called her Audrey.
It was as if she were a complete stranger to him. As if the last 6 months working side by side had meant absolutely nothing. As if the night before had simply been erased from existence.
When lunch finally came, Audrey practically ran out of the building, calling Sophie before even deciding where to go. She ended up sitting on a bench in the plaza across from the building, watching people rush by with apparently much simpler lives than hers.
“He’s treating me like I’m a complete stranger,” Audrey practically shouted as soon as Sophie answered.
“It’s a defense mechanism,” Sophie replied with the irritating confidence of someone who always knew exactly what was happening. “He’s scared of what he felt last night, so he’s pretending he didn’t feel anything.”
“But this is hurting me so much, Sophie.”
The words slipped out, and tears finally began falling down her face.
“Of course it’s hurting, because you really like him.”
It was not a question. It was a statement.
Audrey closed her eyes tightly, letting the truth invade her completely.
“Maybe I do like him,” she admitted quietly.
“Then you need to show him you’re not just another secretary, Audrey. You need to provoke him. Take him out of his comfort zone.”
“How do I do that?”
“Be unexpected. Be brave. Do something he’s not expecting from you.”
Audrey went back to the office after lunch with a completely new determination burning in her chest, a courage she had not known existed in her. She waited until mid-afternoon, when she knew Cameron would be less busy with endless meetings, and then simply walked into his office without knocking.
The boldness of the gesture was so unlike her that even she was surprised by her own audacity.
“Mr. Hayes, the meeting with the investors has been scheduled for 3:00 as you requested.”
He did not even look up from the computer screen.
“Right. Thanks.”
Audrey took a deep breath, gathering all the courage she possessed.
“And about what you said last night.”
Cameron froze instantly, completely. His fingers stopped moving over the keyboard. His shoulders became tense and rigid. For a long moment, all Audrey could hear was the low, steady hum of the air conditioning.
“I told you to forget that, Miss Bennett.”
His voice came out too controlled, too rigid, as if he were making a tremendous effort to maintain composure.
“But what if I don’t want to forget?”
She took a deliberate step toward his desk, her heart beating so hard it felt as though it wanted to come out of her mouth.
Finally, he looked up at her. Really looked. His dark eyes seemed capable of seeing through every defense, and there was something there, dangerous and vulnerable at once, a confusing mix of emotions she could not fully decipher.
“Audrey.”
He said her name like a warning, like a plea.
“You said you’d never met any woman like me,” she continued, taking another step toward his desk and refusing to back down. “Was that true, or was it just the alcohol talking?”
“I was completely drunk that night.”
“But people say drunk people end up saying the truths they hide when they’re sober.”
“Or they say a bunch of meaningless nonsense.”
He stood abruptly, putting the desk between them as though it were a physical barrier of protection.
“So that was it?” Audrey asked. “Meaningless nonsense? Everything you said?”
The silence that followed was tense, heavy, loaded with everything neither of them had the courage to say out loud. She could see the struggle behind his eyes, the internal battle between what he really wanted and what he believed was right.
“It was,” he lied.
Audrey knew it was a lie because he could not look directly into her eyes while saying it.
“Forget all of it, Audrey. It was a terrible mistake, and it won’t happen again.”
The pain was completely physical, sharp and cutting like a blade through her chest. But Audrey refused to let it show on her face.
“Right. Understood perfectly.”
She turned to leave before he could see the tears forming in her eyes.
“Audrey, wait a moment.”
She stopped midway and turned slowly to face him.
“Yes, Mr. Hayes?”
He opened his mouth as if to say something important, then closed it again, running a hand through his hair in a gesture of pure frustration she had never seen in him before. He was always so controlled, composed, and relentless. Now he seemed on the verge of falling apart.
“Nothing. It’s nothing. You can go.”
Audrey left without looking back, but she clearly heard the sound of something striking the desk with violent force.
He had punched the furniture.
The small, petty satisfaction she felt at knowing she affected him as much as he affected her was practically the only thing keeping her from breaking down in tears in the hallway.
She had barely gotten back to her desk when Ryan, the company’s vice president and Cameron’s best friend, walked into Cameron’s office without ceremony. Audrey knew she should not listen, but the glass walls were much thinner than they appeared, and she could hear almost everything.
“Dude, what the hell was that I just witnessed?” Ryan sounded genuinely confused.
“It’s none of your business, Ryan.”
Cameron’s voice was rough and irritated.
“You’re being a complete idiot to Audrey. You know that.”
“I’m just being professional with my secretary.”
“No, you’re being a jerk. There’s a huge difference.”
Ryan did not seem the least bit impressed by Cameron’s defensive attitude.
“Everyone in this office can clearly see how you look at her, Cam.”
“I don’t look at her in any special way.”
“You do. And yesterday you showed up completely drunk at her place.”
There was a dramatic pause.
“The driver told me everything. So what happened? You declared your love for her, and now you’re running away like a coward?”
“I’m not running from anything.”
Cameron sounded extremely defensive.
“I just—she’s my secretary, Ryan. This would be completely inappropriate.”
“Or it would be absolutely perfect, depending on the point of view. You like her, and she very clearly likes you too.”
“You can’t know that for sure.”
“I saw the expression on her face when she left here just now. Cam, she was visibly hurt. And do you know why? Because you’re hurting her on purpose with this cold, distant attitude.”
A long silence followed on the other side.
“You need to decide what you want, Cameron. Either you own up to what you feel for her, or you’re going to lose her forever.”
Audrey spent the rest of the afternoon trying desperately not to think about the conversation she had overheard, trying not to let hope grow dangerously inside her chest.
At 6:30 that evening, she began methodically organizing her desk, putting documents away in drawers and shutting down the computer, anxious to go home and finally cry in peace.
“Audrey.”
His voice made her freeze instantly in place.
She looked up slowly. Cameron stood in the office doorway, his tie slightly loosened, his hair completely disordered as though he had run his hands through it countless times during the day.
“Mr. Hayes,” Audrey responded, trying to keep her voice neutral.
“I—”
He hesitated, and it was extremely strange to see Cameron Hayes hesitate over anything.
“Can I talk to you in private?”
“Is it about a work matter?”
“No. It’s not. It’s about what happened last night.”
Her heart raced violently.
“But I thought you said to forget all of that.”
“It’s been very hard to forget.”
He took a cautious step toward her.
“It’s been hard for me too,” Audrey admitted quietly. “But if that’s really what you want—”
“No.”
The word came out with surprising, almost desperate force.
“That’s not what I want. Not at all.”
“Then tell me what you really want, Cameron.”
He ran a tired hand over his face, looking completely exhausted.
“I don’t know for sure, Audrey. I’ve never felt anything like this before in my entire life. It scares me. Deeply.”
“It scares me too.”
She took a decisive step toward him, gradually closing the distance between them.
“But pretending this feeling doesn’t exist won’t make it disappear.”
“I know that perfectly well.”
He moved closer too, until they were dangerously close to each other. So close she could feel the heat from his body radiating in waves.
“I’m sincerely sorry for today,” he said. “For being so cold to you. For being a complete jerk.”
“You really were a jerk today.”
“I was,” he agreed.
There was something raw and honest in the admission.
“Because when I see you, I simply can’t think straight. This morning, at your apartment, in those ridiculous pajamas, without any makeup, too beautiful for your own good—I desperately wanted to kiss you. That terrifies me in a way you can’t even imagine.”
“Why does it terrify you so much?” she whispered, her voice trembling.
“Because I’m your boss, Audrey. Because I could ruin everything between us. Because you deserve someone much better than a workaholic man who shows up completely drunk at your door in the middle of the night.”
Audrey slowly raised her hand and touched his face gently, feeling the roughness of his stubble beneath her fingertips.
“What if I want exactly that? You with all your imperfections. Complicated. Workaholic. Simply you.”
“Audrey.”
He said her name like a prayer.
“You said you needed me,” she said, her voice visibly trembling. “Well, I need you too, Cameron.”
The tension between them was completely palpable. Electric, so strong it felt as if the air itself might catch fire. They were too close, breathing the same air, and Audrey could see with perfect clarity the exact moment all his resistance finally broke.
“If I kiss you now, there’s no going back after that.”
She lifted her chin defiantly.
“Then let there be no going back.”
Then he finally kissed her.
It was intense, desperate, absolutely perfect. His hands found her face, holding her with a gentleness that contrasted with the intensity of the kiss, as though she were something precious that might break. Her hands went automatically to his hair, pulling, feeling the silky softness between her fingers.
The kiss tasted of unspoken promises and contained desperation, of all the things that had gone unsaid, of endless sleepless nights and stolen glances during meetings. It was everything, and then some.
When they finally pulled apart, both breathless and trying to catch their breath, Audrey could barely form a coherent thought.
“Wow,” was all she could say.
Cameron smiled, one of those rare, genuine smiles that completely transformed his face, making him even more handsome.
“I fully agree.”
“And what happens now?”
Cameron rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes briefly.
“Now, we try to make this work. Slowly. At our own pace. If you really want.”
“I really want to. But there need to be ground rules.”
He pulled back just enough to look directly into her eyes.
“What kind of rules?”
“Here at the office, during work hours, we keep everything completely professional.”
His fingers gently traced the outline of her jaw.
“But out there, away from everyone’s eyes, you’re completely mine.”
“Possessive?”
She raised an eyebrow, trying to look disapproving and failing miserably.
“Extremely possessive. Is that a problem?”
Audrey bit her lower lip, feeling an inevitable smile forming.
“No. It’s definitely not a problem.”
They stood there smiling at each other in the empty office, with the city lighting up outside the windows.
For the first time since Audrey had met Cameron Hayes, everything seemed to be exactly where it should be.
The next 2 weeks were the most surreal of Audrey’s life, as if she had suddenly woken inside one of the romantic movies Sophie always forced her to watch on Sunday afternoons.
During the day at Hayes Enterprises, they were the perfection of professionalism, maintaining a careful distance that gave no one any reason to suspect anything. She was Miss Bennett, always punctual and efficient. He was Mr. Hayes, the arrogant and impossible CEO, as always.
But at night, when the office doors closed and the rest of the world disappeared, he was simply Cameron. Audrey gradually discovered sides of him no one else had permission to see.
Dinners at small hidden restaurants where no one from the company would run into them by chance. Long walks through the park while they talked about absolutely everything and nothing. Nights watching movies in her tiny apartment while he complained constantly about her questionable choice of romantic comedies.
It was surprising, almost shocking, to discover how genuinely sweet Cameron could be when he was away from the critical eyes of the corporate world, when he did not need to maintain the impenetrable mask of control he wore at the office like a second skin.
On a Thursday night, he appeared at her apartment after work with a bag of Chinese food and the small, rare smile that made her heart race every time she was lucky enough to see it. They were eating straight from the cardboard boxes, sitting on the living room floor because Audrey had insisted it was more comfortable, when he simply got up and walked toward her bedroom without asking permission.
“Where do you think you’re going?” she asked, running after him with noodles still hanging from the chopsticks in her hand.
He opened her closet door and stopped there, completely motionless, looking inside with an expression of absolute astonishment.
“Audrey, how many cardigans do you have in here?”
Heat rose immediately to her cheeks as she tried to calculate in her head.
“About 47, give or take.”
“47.”
He turned to face her with eyes wide in an almost comical way.
“You’re telling me, in all seriousness, that you own 47 cardigans?”
“I really like cardigans. What’s the problem?”
She crossed her arms defensively in front of her chest, trying to look firm but probably only looking ridiculous.
He started to laugh, a genuine, loud laugh that echoed against the apartment walls. Then he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her waist.
“You’re absolutely impossible. You know that?”
He kissed her softly and delicately enough to make her knees weak.
“And I completely love that about you.”
Audrey froze in his arms, slowly processing what he had just said so casually.
“You—what did you just say?”
He realized it immediately, his eyes widening at his own accidental admission.
“I meant that I like that. Of course, I like—”
“No. You said love.”
She insisted, feeling her heart beating so hard it felt ready to leave her body.
“Audrey, I—”
But she pulled away from his arms, needing space to breathe.
The following Friday, they were watching another movie on her couch. Audrey wore the blue kitten pajamas Cameron kept saying he hated but secretly found adorable. He was leaning back in the corner of the couch with his arm around her shoulders, and she was completely snuggled against his chest, feeling the steady rhythm of his heartbeat against her cheek.
“Those ridiculous pajamas are still extremely ugly. You know that, don’t you?” he suddenly commented, interrupting the movie.
“And yet you’re still here every night saying exactly the same thing,” she replied without taking her eyes off the TV.
“Because I love you, you idiot.”
He said it so naturally, as if commenting on the weather.
The silence that followed was so deep and absolute Audrey could hear her own heart beating erratically in her chest. She pulled away quickly, turning to face him with wide eyes.
“What? What did you just say?”
His expression shifted rapidly from calm to absolutely terrified.
“I—damn. That definitely wasn’t how I was planning to say this for the first time.”
“Cameron.”
She whispered his name, feeling tears begin to form in her eyes.
“Forget it. Please, just forget I said anything.”
He tried to get up from the couch, but she grabbed his arm tightly.
“I love you too.”
The words left her mouth in a trembling but completely sincere whisper.
He froze and turned slowly to look into her eyes.
“You—”
“Even while wearing those absolutely horrible pajamas,” Audrey said, laughing through the tears now running freely down her face. “Especially while wearing these horrible pajamas.”
He pulled her into a deep, intense kiss that seemed to seal a silent promise between them.
In that moment, everything seemed absolutely perfect in Audrey’s small world.
But nothing in life stayed perfect forever.
Jessica was one of the most ambitious executives at Hayes Enterprises, with impeccable blonde hair always pulled into an elegant bun and designer suits that probably cost more than Audrey’s entire monthly salary. She had always made it very clear, through significant looks and subtle comments, that she was romantically interested in Cameron. Apparently, she had not liked noticing the subtle change in the dynamic between Audrey and Cameron.
Audrey began noticing Jessica’s looks during meetings, the way she observed every interaction between Audrey and Cameron with cold, calculating eyes.
On Monday morning, during an important presentation for potential investors, Jessica sat strategically on the other side of the table, watching everything with meticulous attention.
“Miss Bennett, could you show us the numbers from the last fiscal quarter?” Cameron asked, completely professional.
Audrey opened her laptop to project the presentation she had carefully prepared over the entire weekend. But when the screen appeared on the projector, the financial charts were not there.
Instead, a huge error message appeared saying the files were corrupted and could not be opened.
“I don’t understand. Everything’s here. I checked 3 times last night.”
Audrey started to stutter, panic rising in her throat as she desperately tried to open the backup files.
“Looks like someone wasn’t as careful as she should have been when preparing such an important presentation,” Jessica commented with a fake, sweet smile that did not come close to reaching her eyes. “What a shame, considering we have investors waiting.”
Tears of shame and frustration burned behind Audrey’s eyes, but she refused to let them fall in front of everyone.
Cameron looked at her with a neutral expression, but she could see the concern hidden deep in his dark eyes.
“No problem at all, Miss Bennett. We can use the physical files I prepared as backup precisely for situations like this.”
He calmly picked up a folder beside him.
“Please distribute the printed copies to everyone present.”
The meeting continued without major problems after that, but Audrey spent the rest of the day feeling terrible. She knew perfectly well that someone had deliberately tampered with her files. And judging by Jessica’s satisfied smile from across the office, Audrey had a very clear idea of who might have been responsible.
That night, when she was finally alone with Cameron in his apartment, she completely broke down. The tears she had held back all day finally fell as she told him everything. He held her in his arms with an increasingly dark expression on his face.
“She did this on purpose to humiliate me in front of everyone,” Audrey sobbed against his chest. “And it worked perfectly.”
“This isn’t going to stay like this,” he said, voice dangerously low and controlled in a way Audrey had never heard before. “No one hurts you and gets away with it, Audrey. Absolutely no one.”
Part 3
The next morning, Audrey arrived at the office carrying 2 coffees as she always did since she and Cameron had started secretly dating. She found him already sitting behind his desk with an absolutely dark expression. An open folder sat in front of him, and even from a distance, Audrey could see they were security reports from the company’s computer system.
“Good morning,” she said softly, placing his coffee on the desk and trying to decipher his closed expression.
“Jessica hacked your computer and deliberately deleted the presentation files,” he said bluntly, without taking his eyes off the documents. “The IT department confirmed the access was made from her terminal at 2:00 in the morning on Sunday, when she should have been home.”
Audrey felt her blood run cold as she processed the information.
“She did this on purpose just to humiliate me.”
“It wasn’t just to humiliate you, Audrey.”
He finally looked up, and there was something absolutely icy in his eyes.
“It was a deliberate attempt to sabotage the company and end your career here. I definitely won’t tolerate that.”
Before Audrey could respond, Cameron was already getting up and walking with firm, determined steps toward the door. She followed quickly, her heart beating erratically as he crossed the hallway toward Jessica’s office.
He opened the door without knocking. Without asking permission. Without warning.
Jessica looked up from her computer, clearly surprised by the sudden invasion, though she tried to maintain her fake professional smile.
“Mr. Hayes, what a pleasant surprise. I was just reviewing the contracts from—”
“You’re fired,” Cameron said in a voice so cold and controlled it sent a chill down Audrey’s spine, even knowing his anger was not directed at her. “I want you to get your personal belongings and leave the building in the next 15 minutes, or I’ll call security to escort you out.”
The smile on Jessica’s face disappeared, replaced by genuine shock.
“What? You can’t just fire me without a valid reason. I have rights.”
“You hacked an employee’s computer and deliberately sabotaged an important presentation for investors,” Cameron interrupted firmly. “I have all the security system records proving it. So yes, I can fire you, and that’s exactly what I’m doing right now. Consider yourself lucky I’m not prosecuting you criminally for system invasion.”
Jessica looked at Audrey with such pure, intense hatred that Audrey involuntarily stepped back.
“So that’s it. You’re firing me because of her. Because of your little pet secretary?”
“I’m firing you because you committed a crime within my company,” Cameron responded with deadly calm. “And because no one, absolutely no one, hurts Audrey and continues working here.”
Audrey watched in silence as security arrived to escort Jessica out of the building. Jessica cursed and shouted the entire way about injustice and favoritism, but Audrey did not feel even a trace of satisfaction.
Only a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach that this was not over.
She was right.
2 days later, on Thursday morning, Audrey woke and grabbed her phone to turn off the alarm. She found desperate messages from Sophie, with links to various news and corporate gossip sites.
With visibly trembling hands, Audrey clicked the first link and felt the world collapse around her.
“Hayes Enterprises CEO Involved in Romance with Secretary,” the headline screamed in huge letters, accompanied by photos of Audrey and Cameron leaving a restaurant together the previous week.
The article openly speculated about favoritism in the workplace, inappropriate relationships between a boss and an employee, and how Audrey had probably gotten her position through questionable means.
She immediately called Cameron, who answered on the first ring.
“Have you seen the news?” she asked, her voice trembling.
“Just saw it now,” he replied, and she could hear the barely contained anger in his voice. “Jessica leaked it to the press before being fired. She planned this all perfectly.”
“Cameron, everyone is going to think that I—that I got my job because of that. That it was all out of interest.”
Tears began falling down her face as the words came out unsteadily.
“I don’t care at all what people think about this, Audrey,” he said with a firmness that should have comforted her but only made her feel worse.
“But I care,” she practically shouted into the phone. “I care a lot what people think. I worked extremely hard to get where I am, and now everyone is going to believe I only got this position because I’m sleeping with the boss.”
“Audrey, listen. We’re going to solve this together. We’ll issue an official statement clarifying that—”
“No, Cameron.”
She interrupted, feeling exhaustion and frustration take over completely.
“I can’t do this right now. I need time to think.”
She hung up before he could respond, ignoring the insistent calls that began seconds later.
The next 2 weeks were miserable in a way Audrey had never experienced before. She requested a temporary leave from work, claiming health problems, and spent her days locked in her apartment, ignoring Cameron’s persistent calls and Sophie’s increasingly desperate messages asking her to answer the phone at least once.
But it was not just the scandal in the press consuming her. It was everything she had noticed over the last few months and deliberately ignored. Cameron was a workaholic in a way that bordered on obsessive. He often canceled their plans at the last minute because of meetings that appeared out of nowhere. He worked late every night, answered emails during dinners, and Audrey had begun to feel like a second choice, like something he fit into his schedule when there was time left between endless meetings.
In the third week, Sophie finally lost patience and showed up at Audrey’s apartment door with the spare key Audrey had given her years earlier for emergencies.
“Enough, Audrey,” Sophie said as soon as she entered, throwing her bag on the couch and facing Audrey with her hands on her hips. “You can’t hide here forever, running away from your problems.”
“I’m not running away. I’m just processing everything.”
Audrey replied weakly from her permanent place on the couch.
“You’re being completely ridiculous. That’s what you’re being.”
Sophie sat beside her and took her hands.
“He loves you. You love him. You’re both absolutely miserable apart. So why the hell don’t you solve this?”
“Because it’s too complicated, Sophie. You don’t understand.”
“Then explain it to me. Make me understand. Because from where I’m standing, you’re throwing away the best relationship you’ve ever had because of what other people are going to think.”
Audrey told her everything then. How she felt like a second choice. How Cameron never had time for her in a real way. How tired she was of competing with his work for attention. When she finished, she felt strangely lighter, as if getting it all out had relieved a huge weight from her chest.
“Did you talk to him about this?” Sophie asked gently. “About how you’re feeling?”
“No,” Audrey admitted quietly. “I just ran away.”
“Then I think you know exactly what you need to do now.”
Meanwhile, across town, Cameron was having a very similar conversation with Ryan in his office, where he practically lived since Audrey had stopped answering his calls.
“You’re a complete idiot. You know that?” Ryan said bluntly, throwing himself into the chair across from Cameron’s desk. “The woman you love is suffering, and you’re sitting here like a coward instead of going after her.”
“She said she needed time, Ryan. I can’t just ignore that and invade her space.”
“No. What you can’t do is give up on her without fighting.”
Ryan leaned forward, looking his friend directly in the eyes.
“You spent your entire life building this company, dedicating every second of your time to work. But for what? What good is all this if you don’t have anyone to share it with?”
It was in that exact moment, sitting in that cold, empty office, that Cameron finally understood what he needed to do.
He needed to prove to Audrey that she was his priority. That she would never be a second choice. That he was willing to change completely for her.
3 weeks after Audrey stopped answering Cameron’s calls, she received an unexpected message from Ryan.
“Shareholders meeting today at 3:00 in the afternoon. You should come. Please trust me.”
Audrey stared at the message for long minutes, not quite understanding what he meant. But something in the urgency of the words made her make an impulsive decision.
She arrived at the main auditorium of Hayes Enterprises a few minutes before 3:00, wearing one of her favorite cardigans and trying to look far more confident than she felt inside. The place was packed with shareholders, executives, and important board members, all talking in low voices as they waited for the meeting to begin.
Audrey found a discreet spot at the back of the auditorium, hoping no one would recognize her and start asking uncomfortable questions about the recent scandals.
Cameron walked onto the stage at exactly 3:00, impeccable as always in the dark gray suit she knew was his favorite. But something was different in his expression. He looked nervous in a way she had never seen before, his hands slightly tense around the microphone as he faced the crowd.
“Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for attending this quarterly shareholders meeting,” he began with the professional, controlled voice she knew so well. “But before we begin discussing numbers and financial projections, I need to say something of an extremely personal nature.”
A murmur of confusion moved through the auditorium. Audrey felt her heart beat erratically, anticipation taking over.
“Many of you here have certainly heard the rumors that recently circulated in the press about me and my secretary, Audrey Bennett.”
He paused deliberately, then his eyes swept the auditorium until they found her at the back.
“I’m here today to confirm that those rumors are completely true. I love her. I’m completely in love with her, and I don’t care at all who knows it.”
Tears began forming in Audrey’s eyes as Cameron stepped down from the stage with firm, determined steps, walking down the center aisle directly toward her. 200 people turned their heads to watch, but Audrey could only see him.
“Audrey, I was a complete idiot. Workaholic, impossible to deal with most of the time,” he said when he finally reached her. He took her hands in his with a gentleness that contrasted with the intensity of the moment. “But you made me want to be a better person. You made me realize there’s life beyond work. I don’t want to hide this from anyone anymore. I don’t want to hide you from anyone.”
He stood before her, in front of shareholders, executives, and board members.
“So I’m here in front of all these people asking you: do you forgive me for being an idiot? And will you try again with me?”
Tears were running freely down Audrey’s face, but she was smiling at the same time, a confusing mixture of emotions taking over completely.
“You’re absolutely ridiculous. You know that?”
He smiled that rare, genuine smile she loved so much.
“I know perfectly well I’m ridiculous. But I’m your ridiculous, if you’ll still have me.”
“Yes. I forgive you, you impossible idiot.”
Then he pulled her into an intense, passionate kiss right there in the middle of the packed auditorium. The sound of applause echoing off the walls was the most surreal thing Audrey had ever experienced: 200 people clapping for their complicated and imperfect love.
Somehow, it felt absolutely right.
6 months passed after that memorable day in the auditorium. 6 months of building a real relationship away from secrets and lies. They were finally moving into a new apartment they had chosen together, a place that would truly be theirs, not just his or hers.
Audrey was carrying another box of belongings when Cameron stopped in the middle of the new apartment’s living room, looking with absolute horror at the absurd number of boxes stacked with the label “Audrey’s clothes” written in large letters.
“Audrey, tell me you did not bring all 47 cardigans here,” he said with the tone of fake despair she knew very well.
“Actually, it’s 50 now,” she replied with a mischievous smile, placing her box on top of the pile. “I bought 3 new ones last week because they were on sale, and I simply couldn’t resist.”
He started laughing, shaking his head with amused resignation. Then he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her waist.
“You’re completely impossible to deal with. You know that?”
He kissed her softly.
“But that’s exactly why you’re absolutely perfect for me.”
“Even when I’m wearing the kitten pajamas?”
She already knew what his answer would be.
“Especially when you’re wearing those ridiculous kitten pajamas.”
He paused dramatically.
“By the way, just to be very clear, those pajamas are still extremely ugly.”
“And yet, you’re still here every night complaining about the same thing,” Audrey replied, touching his face affectionately.
“I’ll always be here, Audrey.”
This time, his voice was completely serious, loaded with genuine emotion.
“You made me believe in real love. You made me believe there’s something more important in the world than work and endless meetings.”
“And you made me believe I can be loved exactly as I am,” Audrey interrupted softly. “With my glasses, with my 50 ugly cardigans, with my absolutely ridiculous pajamas.”
“They’re not ridiculous,” he started, then smiled. “Okay, maybe they are a little ridiculous. But they’re completely yours, and that’s what makes them perfect.”
“I love you so much,” she whispered against his lips.
“I love you so much more,” he replied, kissing her again.
The sound of his phone ringing interrupted the moment. When he checked the messages, he started laughing out loud.
Sophie had sent a message saying, “You 2 are absolutely disgusting. You’re so in love, but I’ve been shipping you since the beginning. Congrats on the move.”
Audrey’s own phone vibrated seconds later with a message from Ryan.
“Finally, man. I always knew you’d end up together since that day you literally stood there for 20 minutes staring at her organizing files alphabetically.”
They both laughed together, then spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking boxes, organizing their new home, building something that was only theirs.
That night, after an exhausting day of moving, they relaxed on the new couch, watching another movie while Audrey wore the blue kitten pajamas Cameron pretended so much to hate. He held her, his chin resting on top of her head, and she could feel the steady rhythm of his heartbeat against her back.
“Do you remember that night when you showed up completely drunk at my apartment door?” she asked suddenly, interrupting the movie.
“How could I forget? It was probably the most embarrassing moment of my entire life.”
Audrey could hear the smile in his voice.
“You said that night that you needed me.”
“It was absolutely true.”
He kissed the top of her head tenderly.
“It’s still true, actually. I still need you every day, every moment.”
“I need you too,” Audrey whispered. “My arrogant and completely impossible boss.”
“Ex-boss, technically,” he corrected with humor. “Now I’m just yours.”
“Completely mine,” she agreed, turning to kiss him.
There, in that perfect moment of peace and love, Audrey thought about everything that had happened since that crazy night.
He had shown up drunk at her door in the middle of the night. He had said he desperately needed her, called her favorite pajamas ugly, called her weird in a way that sounded almost like a compliment, and said he had never met any woman like her in his entire life.
It was probably the best night of Audrey’s life, even with all the confusion and embarrassment.
Because from all that craziness, from that drunk and completely inappropriate declaration, everything they had now had been born.
Imperfect love, full of flaws and problems.
Real, honest, true love.
Love that was completely theirs.